Backbone - Walk There Again

The Fall colors are starting to show themselves at Backbone State Park and the two of us made sure to give ourselves an opportunity for front row seats this past weekend.  Well, actually, Tammy had the front row seat and I had the standing room only tickets.

Tammy has taken up kayaking this year.  She's always liked being on/in the water far more than I do and hiking is probably far less fun for her than it once was because of the Achilles and hip bothering her.  I, on the other hand, do like a good walk in the woods.  Admittedly, I prefer walking with Tammy - but this was a good second.  I knew she was enjoying the outdoors in the same area just as I was.  And, I finished my hike at about the same time she finished her float.

Next time, we might arrange it so Tammy can get a short walk as well.

There were clouds for all but a short ten minute period during this parallel walk/float.  Since I was under the tree canopy, Tammy got a bit more view of blue skies and sunshine than I did.  That means she was able to see the color blue, which was in shorter supply where I was.  

But that's ok, because there was plenty of color for me to enjoy and lots to explore.  There were leaves and birds and rocks and trees and...  Well, you get the idea.

The Pileated Woodpeckers (there were at least three of them) were laughing as they swooped from tree to tree.  It was probably funny to see the silly human trudging along on his two feet while they could just spread their wings and cover the territory much more quickly (and more thrillingly, I bet).  A large group of small birds that was mostly Golden-crowned Kinglets and White-throated Sparrows chattered with each other and decided that the human was ok to inspect since he had stopped moving to simply enjoy their presence.  

One Kinglet even decided to come close enough for me to try my hand at capturing an image.  It's golden mohawk can be seen a bit in this picture, though it was much more obvious when I was observing without a lens between me and the bird.

Golden-crowned Kinglet

And, of course, once I put the camera down, a Brown Treecreeper did its thing, creeping up a tree not more than three feet from my face.  When I reached for the camera it dove to another tree that was too far away for me to catch its image.  Creepers walk UP the trunks of trees looking for insects to eat.  Once they decide a tree has been inspected, they'll swoop to a lower spot on an adjacent tree and walk up that one.  I've only seen these little birds once before, so this was great fun for me - to have one walk up a tree right in front of my astonished face.

Meanwhile the Chickadees and Nuthatches were calling.  I am sure the Nuthatches were walking DOWN the trees they were on, because that's what they do.  But, oddly enough I didn't see any of these birds.  So, it was a happy "opposite" day.  The bird you usually only hear (the Creeper) was seen and not heard.  The Chickadees and Nuthatches were heard and not seen.  

Of course, when I see those birds I usually hear them too.  So, maybe it wasn't really "opposite" day.

I was also told by a rather large flock of Robins and Cedar Waxwings that I was a nuisance, and a Bald Eagle let Tammy know that she might have caused some unhappiness as well with a short, but heartfelt, complaint.  

Apparently, a Bald Eagle's scream is often described as "weak sounding."  In fact, movies often dub in the scream of a Red-tailed Hawk in the place of an eagle's scream.  However, Bald Eagles apparently can create a very complex set of sounds.  The video below can be found at the link I have provided here and is on the Raptor Resource Project Site.  Turn up the volume to hear the interesting morning conversation.

I was treated to a brief viewing of a Hermit Thrush and there were numerous other birds that I was able to hear, but not see.  And, as is normally the case, there were plenty of birds that did not feel like they needed to sit still so I could have even a remote chance of figuring out who they were.  I did ask a couple of them to let me look at them a bit more closely, but they typically declined the offer.

Anyway, I think it was a Hermit Thrush.  The Merlin app suggested that it was a Hermit Thrush, rather than a Wood Thrush or Swainson's Thrush (we saw one or the other of these last year at Backbone).  Once again, the bird did not come close enough for a photo and it did not want to sit still while I tried to figure out which one it was.  I think, as far as the birds are concerned, they have NO concern for the names we think we humans feel we must assign to them.  They know who they are and they know who their friends are.  

That's probably good enough.